This is not just a Sony specific problem, numerous other PC suppliers load up their computers with crapware. However, the reason they do this is to subsidise the cost of their hardware and provide it at as a competitive rate as possible. They have contracts with these crapware vendors and until now have been forced to loads these programs on. I remember phoning Dell to see if they could supply a new PC without any of the crapware and I was told this was the reason they couldn’t. They did then give me a £100 discount though – it’s always fun to haggle with sales people.

The fact that Sony is now giving people a choice is certainly a step in the right direction. The fact that they have to charge for this “privilege” is also, I hope, obvious – they will not receive the subsidy they would have from the crapware vendors. The fact that Apple does not load up their machines with crapware is a blessing but at the same time they are not exactly the most competitively priced hardware suppliers. On a side note, if Apple did supply crapware, although I really hope they don’t, it is infinitely easier and quicker to do a fresh install of Mac OS X than Windows.
This is not just a Sony specific problem, numerous other PC suppliers load up their computers with crapware. However, the reason they do this is to subsidise the cost of their hardware and provide it at as a competitive rate as possible. They have contracts with these crapware vendors and until now have been forced to loads these programs on. I remember phoning Dell to see if they could supply a new PC without any of the crapware and I was told this was the reason they couldn’t. They did then give me a £100 discount though – it’s always fun to haggle with sales people.

The fact that Sony is now giving people a choice is certainly a step in the right direction. The fact that they have to charge for this “privilege” is also, I hope, obvious – they will not receive the subsidy they would have from the crapware vendors. The fact that Apple does not load up their machines with crapware is a blessing but at the same time they are not exactly the most competitively priced hardware suppliers. On a side note, if Apple did supply crapware, although I really hope they don’t, it is infinitely easier and quicker to do a fresh install of Mac OS X than Windows.

D'oh, not sure how that got repeated!

I can't believe they think they can charge people extra for this.

"Safely scrubs your PC...maximizing overall system performance"

It's a brand new computer! Should it be scrubbed clean and at optimal performance anyway!?! Please, no one choose this option if you are ordering a Sony. Make them give it to us for free. I shouldn't have to pay to NOT have extra software on my new computer.

That is crazy. You have to pay extra to get them to remove the crap that you didn't pay for anyway? Am I the only one that thinks that's crazy?

Now now, we Apple users don't actually get a clean machine. They do come with software as well - although it's full versions of software (except iWork) that all play well together and are actually good applications. And we don't regret wondering what they are and opening them on our new machines because they turn out to be pretty fun to use. And then we can easily uninstall them if we want to. And they don't all start up and get in our faces when we turn on our machines.

Other than that, this is a clear case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Do you think they put that software on there just because they think you want all that stuff?

They do it because they get PAID to put it on there.

Don't want it? Simple, you pay them instead of the trial companies.

The margins on laptops are pretty small, installing crapware helps offset and helps keep costs low. If you're too lazy to reformat, then pay the difference. It is pretty simple.

So they are not only acknowledging, but totally embracing the fact that all these crapware programs REDUCE the value of their product? That a 'clean' version is worth more than all the helpful software they claim?

They were better off just ignoring the problem.

Windows Crapware is far worse than Apple sneaking Safari into the iTunes update, although I would be annoyed by that too.

Vaguely recalling my PC days (win95 - win98) I would have been super-annoyed at something like the Safari intrusion, not because it was Safari and I didn't ask for it, but because it was just one more F#&%ing thing that somebody had decided to sneak onto my computer to slow it down and fill it up and change all the settings and spy on me.

Because my computing experience from start to finish was cleaning up software clutter, not to mention defragging, as if I had a bunch of troubled children living in my computer who couldn't pick up their toys, wouldn't turn out any lights, and left half-eaten bowls of cereal under their beds. And every 8-12 months I would do a clean install, which was like moving into a brand new house, except I had to kick out the existing problem children already living there before I could bring in my own.

When I remove data clutter from my Mac, I do it knowing that I have nobody to blame but myself. I left that light on and I left the pizza box behind the couch and I'm the one who hasn't taken out the recycling for three weeks or cleaned up after that hallowe'en party.

Isn't the reason that bloatware is added on these machines is to lower the initial cost of the product? So if Sony is asking you to pay for the removal, are they just trying to recoup the lost by selling it at the same price?

Funny thing is, people WILL pay for this, all that extra stuff really hurts the performance on systems. The shop I work in actually charges $99 to remove all this stuff when you purchase the machine.

Is what they're charging fair? Hard to say. I'm sure they are getting kickbacks on the extra stuff and it could likely offset the price making it less expensive for the consumer. Or they know that people will pay extra to not deal with the headaches of uninstalling that stuff. Because once installed, your registry is never quite the same.

As Noted by CNET, Sony has removed the 50 dollar charge.

It is worth the $50. Last summer, a month prior to my wedding, my wife's old Gateway died. We couldn't spend the money on an iBook, so we decided on a Sony Vaio - a beautiful machine, with great specs. Of course I then spent the next week, trying to get all the crap off the machine, and then was left with nothing - and Windows Vista.

Never again. That's the last Windows PC for us. The difference these days is minor - Microsoft has made Office a horrible, bloated program - and with open source solutions, and a standards based internet - who needs windows?

Sony computers suck. Don't waste your money. Why would anyone pay for the removal of crapware? Just reinstall OS yourself.

Daniel
http://www.palluxo.com

That's a bunch of BullDoodu ! Anyway why would anyone buy SOny laptops they are really overpriced; you can get a much better laptop from lenovo and toshiba that are really solid.

Sony charge a fairly hefty premium for their hardware, like Apple yes. They put the crap on to make money, not subsidise the cost of the hardware.

so vivide
come on!!
I'm waiting for you other articles

thanks for the article which you give us to share
so great!
I'll miss you.

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